1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to archery equipment, and, more particularly, to the use of lasers with archery equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices are known which provide improved accuracy for individuals target shooting and hunting with archery equipment. For example, bow sights have long been used to provide improved accuracy of an archery bow. A rear sight may be in the form of a bow string mounted peep sight having a small hole which is aligned with a forward sight pin mounted on the bow riser for substantially increasing the accuracy of the bow. As a further example, the front sight may be in the form of multiple, vertically aligned horizontal pins mounted in a frame to protect the pins. These multi-pin sights have proliferated in the last few years, especially in the hunting arena, where the distance to a target can vary as much as from 10-60 yards. Optical lenses defining a scope sight may also be used to provide improved accuracy. Yet still, it is also known to use a laser sight which is aligned at a fixed position relative to the riser of the bow to project a laser beam and ultimately a red dot onto a target.
When shooting an archery bow, the trajectory of an arrow must be accurately predicted if an archer is to have confidence in accurate shot placement on a target. The above-mentioned improvements in sights for bows assist in accurately projecting the point of impact at which the arrow is to strike. However, whether the sights are in the form of pin sights, optical lens sights or laser sights, they all assume that the physics of the archery bow are correct during use. Unless the various components making up the archery bow are properly aligned relative to each other, the dynamics of the bow during use may cause force vectors in unknown or undesired directions to exert lateral or other undesirable forces on the arrow causing inaccuracy of a shot.
Heretofore, aligning an archery bow has generally been done through visual alignment and/or mechanically through the use of squares, etc. Although these techniques may be used to avoid gross misalignment of the archery bow, they nonetheless are imprecise and do not ensure exact positioning of the components of the archery bow relative to each other to provide maximum accuracy.
What is needed in the art is a method of aligning or “laying out” an archery bow so that all critical components are properly positioned relative to each other to ensure maximum accuracy. What is further needed in the art is a layout device for use with an archery bow that ensures that all critical parts of the bow affecting the flight path of the arrow lie in a common plane.